STARTING A SMALL MUSIC TRIVIA BUSINESS EXERCISE Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 STARTING A SMALL MUSIC TRIVIA BUSINESS EXERCISE Walter J. Wheatley, The University of West Florida Alan L. Cudworth, The Nottingham Trent University STRUCTURE OF THE EXERCISE With every new course undertaken there is an urgent need to gain the empathy and enthusiasm of the course members in particular when about to undertake an experiential exercise. This proposed workshop will explore different kinds of “icebreakers” and consider the techniques needed to avoid likely pitfalls when running them. The workshop will be developed in three stages: Stage 1 - An introduction and examination of the nature of “icebreakers” with some sample examples and ideas for further development Stage 2 - An opportunity for all participants to experience “Starting a Small Music Trivia Business Exercise” Stage 3 - An evaluation and discussion of the issues and outcomes of the session and advice to the presenters for improvements or extensions to the simulation materials The session will dose with an evaluation of the workshop as a learning experience and its contribution to the ABSEL Conference. OVERVIEW One of the primary benefits of the Small Music Trivia Business Exercise (SMTBE) to educators is its versatility. Its use in the classroom is as vast as the imagination of the educator& utilizing it. As an icebreaker, it will generate a great deal of excitement and a high energy level among the participating students. It’s an ideal icebreaker to create a relaxed atmosphere at the beginning of a class term to allow students a chance to meet each other. As an interactive exercise it can be used for a variety of topics including strategic planning, negotiation and communication skills, ethics, entrepreneurship, and small business development to name just a few. The game is very simple in design consisting of play money, a Small Business Administration (SBA) Request for proposals, some very unusual, yet realistic, rules for executing the exercise, and an answer sheet. The basic underpinnings of the exercise is that the SBA wants to set up a small music trivia company. All companies (small groups of students) start out with a set amount of money and at least one answer to the trivia questions provided by the SBA. The object of the exercise is to let the students interact with each other by buying, selling, trading, and stealing trivia answers. The winner of the SBA contract is the group of students that has procured the most answers to the trivia questions and has the greatest amount of money left over. As was mentioned above, the potential for learning from the exercise, is virtually unlimited. The instructor can change the objectives, manipulate the amount of money, the number of answers given to teams, etc. The real learning occurs when the instructor debriefs the learning objectives that he or she had originally intended and receives feedback from the students. A lively discussion is one of the guarantees of using this exercise. The exercise can be used in small classes with as few as two students per team, but the ideal is the standard 35-40 student class with the students divided up into groups of five. This allows for two students to act as buyers, two to act as sellers, and 264 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 one to manage the overall efforts of the group. We have used this game several times during the past few semesters and, while the results are never always the same, the students’ feedback has always been extremely positive. To conduct this workshop at the ABSEL conference, every attendee at the session will be asked to participate as we have them play the game. This should take about twenty minutes. We will then spend about fifteen minutes debriefing the exercises and conducting a discussion on their feelings about the exercise and how we can improve it. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has been swamped with requests for answers to music trivia questions by small radio stations who can not afford the prices being charged by the few large businesses that provide this information. In order to deal with this situation, the SBA has decided to assist in the development of a small business to provide this service to other small businesses requesting this information at more affordable rates. The Notice of Requests for Proposals (NRP) have been sent to several entrepreneurs. The NRP states that to bid on the proposal, the entrepreneur must have an initial capitalization of $10,000,000 and the answer to at least one of the 20 attached trivia questions most requested by their constituents. The award will go to the entrepreneur that succeeds in obtaining the most correct music trivia answers and has the highest amount of capitalization. To insure pure competition, the SBA has set the following rules: 1. There are no rules, except no physical violence! 2. You may buy access to other entrepreneurs’ answers, sell access to your answers, steal answers, trade answers, sell false answers. 3. Lie, cheat, steal. Do whatever you have to to win. 4. The exercise facilitator, who has no ethics, has obtained 10 of the correct answers and will sell them at $1,000,000 per answer. 5. SECOND PLACE IS THE FIRST LOOSER!!!! SAMPLE MUSIC TRIVIA QUESTIONS 1. What group sang the 1979 No. I hit “Still”? 2. What was Elvis Presley’s last No. 1 hit? 3. What was The O’Jays’ first No. 1 hit? 4. What was Stevie Wonder’s first No. 1 hit in the 1970’s? 5. What was The 1977 No. 1 hit that stayed at the top spot for 10 weeks? 6. What was the Bee Gees’ first No. 1 hit? 7. Who sang the 1986 No. 1 hit “There’ll Be Sad Songs (to make you cry)?” 8. Who sang the No. 1 hit “Footloose?” 9. Who sang the 1984 No. 1 hit "Hello?" 10. Who sang the 1987 No. 1 hit “With or Without You?” 265 Table of Contents Volume 25, 1998 Marketing Goes to the Movies Bringing Experiential Learning to a Principles of Marketing Course Investment Analysis Application Using In-house Spreadsheet Models SugarCoated Statistics: An Exercise for the First Day of Class Improving Undergraduate Student Involvement in Management Science and Business Writing Courses Using the Seven Principles in Action Establishment and Funding for Interuniversity / Multidisciplinary Student experiences The Prospects of Creative Teaching: A Discussion with Patricia Sanders The Simulation and Classroom Assessment Techniques Developments of Management Skill Assessment Games as Instruments of Assessment: A Framework for Evaluation The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business Curricula Threshold Solo Competitor: A Management Simulation (V1.0) a Windows-Based. Play Alone, Total Enterprise Simulation and Assessment Instrument Toward An Understanding of One's self-concept Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Improving Student Perceptions and Simplifying Administrative Workloads The Expatriate an Assignment Orientation Game An Expatriate's Nightmare: An Experiential Exercise in Coping with Overseas Assignments Analyzing Experiential Exercise: Using the Scientific Method for Problem Solving The Second Component to Experiential Learning: A Look Back at How ABSEL has handled the Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Learning Predictive Models of Learning: Participant Satisfaction of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Accelerating Moral Development through Use of Experiential Ethical Dilemmas Ethical Dilemmas to use with Business Simulations to Teach Ethics The Class Approach in Behavioral Simulation in a Business Policy/Strategic Management course: A Progression toward Greater Realism An Exploration of the Emergence of Process Prototypes in a Management Course Utilizing a Total Enterprise Simulation How Organizations Are Improving Their Performance Utilizing Electronic Commerce: Examples From The Internet The Market Access Planning System (Maps): A Computer-Based Decision Support System For Facilitating Experiential Learning In International Business An Excel Workbook For Student Planning And Interface With A Simulation Game Design Of Multi-Media Based Pedagogy For Leadership Training Panel Discussion On Using The Internet For Courses Valuing And Enhancing Teaching: Sharing Tips Via The Web The Buddy Project: A Semester Long Project Aimed At Developing An Appreciation For Diversity Enhancing The Excitement And Learning Retention In The Classroom: The Power Of Magic The Supervised Management Internship: A Job Or Learning Experience Team Ware™ An Online Moderated Class Discussion Facility And Beyond A Neophyte Distance Educator's Experience Learning Management By Practicing Management: A Report Of Significant Student Service In 1997 Integration Of Academic And Service Learning: Students' Perceptions About Its Effects And Outcomes The Value Of Incorporating A Service Learning Component Into Course Content: A Presentation And Roundtable Discussion Business Games Teach: Thoughts on the Sources of Conflicting Conclusions on their Effectiveness Antecedents Of Learning In The Simulation: A Replication Using Student Journals To Enhance Learning From Simulations Technological Change And Intertemporal Movements In Consumer Preferences In The Design Of Computerized Business Simulations With Market Segmentation Integrating The Marketing Curriculum Using Collaborative Learning Teaching Time Management In A Sales Program: The Application Of A Computer Simulation Game Adapting Interactive Computer Simulations For Content Based Esl Instruction Multimedia And Student Expectations Synthesizing Data For Media Simulations Composing A Team Health Promoting Behaviors-A Decision Making Exercise Does it really Work? An Application of the Group Interaction Framework Administering the MIT Beer Game: Lessons Learned A Paperless Economy? Instructing Students on the Aspects of Successful Electronic Commerce Maximizing Learning Gains in Simulations: Lessons from the Training Literature Observing General Ability in a Total Enterprise Gaming Simulation FReach Teach: A Computer-Based System for Teaching Advertising Media Planning An Integrated Business Instruction System An Experiential Exercise you can Tinker With Experiential Exercises or Computer Simulations? Cash Flow Statements: Are They Important in Business Simulations? Holistic Cognitive Strategy in a Computer-Based Marketing Simulation Game: An Investigation of Attitudes Towards the Decision-Making Process Barnga: A Game on Cultural Clashes The Many Faces of Culture: Understanding Country and Corporate Culture Students' View of the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Assessing General Management Interest What is the Future of Business Gaming? Starting a Small Music Trivia Business Exercise and Other Innovative Icebreakers An Integrated Approach to Behavioral Skill Development Career Focus: A Student and Business Learning Experience The Use of Concept Mapping in Teaching Strategic Management An Experiential Approach to Developing Mission Statements Business Games in Brazil-Learning or Satisfaction A Simulation within a Simulation: Job Layoff's and Emotional Reactions